The FAA predicted Elon Musk’s Starship would cause “minor or minimal” disruption. Then the rockets exploded twice in three months over busy airspace.
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The Big Story

January 08, 2026 · View in browser

In today’s newsletter: Flight data reveals how many passenger planes scrambled to avoid burning debris from SpaceX rockets; revisit our best visual journalism of 2025; and learn how to use our new database to look up where generic drugs are made.

“We’re Too Close to the Debris”: How SpaceX Rockets Put Passenger Planes at Risk

The FAA predicted Elon Musk’s Starship would cause “minor or minimal” disruption. Then the rockets exploded twice in three months over busy airspace. Flight data reveals how many planes scrambled to protect passengers and avoid burning debris.

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2025 in visuals

 

Our Year in Visual Journalism

Photos. Illustrations. Graphics. Video. We do it all and then some at ProPublica. Revisit some of the visuals that brought ProPublica’s journalism to life and helped hold power to account in 2025.

 

Illustration by Paul Windle for “Inside the AI Prompts DOGE Used to ‘Munch’ Contracts Related to Veterans’ Health.” Art direction by Lisa Larson-Walker.

 

Illustration by Jacqueline Tam for “Portland Said It Was Investing in Homeless People’s Safety. Deaths Have Quadrupled.” Art direction by Peter DiCampo.

 

Photography by Adriana Loureiro Fernández for “What I Witnessed as I Photographed the Disappearances and the Homecomings of My Countrymen.” Photo editing by Cengiz Yar.

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🎟️ You’re invited

 

The Food and Drug Administration won’t tell us where our generic prescription drugs are coming from. Rx Inspector provides answers. 

This new ProPublica database lets journalists, patients, pharmacists and others look up the track records of the factories around the world that manufacture generics, including inspection and compliance documents. 

🗓️ Join us for a virtual event Wednesday, Jan. 14, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

We’ll show the various features of the app and what users can find within it. In the meantime, we’ve made a demo video on YouTube in which we look up a common generic drug, bupropion, to get a sense of what’s possible with the tool. 

RSVP

Events supported by the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation.

 

More from the newsroom

 

“Step in the Right Direction”: Connecticut DMV Commissioner Calls for More Reforms to State Towing Law to Protect Drivers

Trump’s EPA Could Limit Its Own Ability to Use New Science to Strengthen Air Pollution Rules

Her Parenting Time Was Restricted After a Positive Drug Test. By Federal Standards, It Would’ve Been Negative.

Arizona Judges Launch Effort Seeking Quicker Resolutions to Death Penalty Cases

Trump Signs Defense Bill Prohibiting China-Based Engineers in Pentagon IT Work

 
 
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